The Level of Cyber-Ostracism and Self-Esteem in Medical Faculty Students

Abstract Background Social media, which has become an indispensable part of our lives in recent years, is important for young people to socialize in online groups and to develop their self-esteem (SE). One of the dangers of increased use of social media is cyber ostracism (CO), defined as not being able to join a group and being ignored on social media. In the study, it was aimed to evaluate the level of CO and SE in medical faculty students. Methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted on students of Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine in 2021 spring semester. The questionnaire prepared based on the literature was filled out online by the participants. The study group consisted of 1092 (70% response rate) students who agreed to participate in the survey. The CO Scale was used to assess the level of CO, and the Rosenberg SE Scale was used for the assessment of SE. Mann Whitney-U test, Kruskal Wallis test, Spearman correlation analysis and Multiple Linear Regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Results In the study group; 593 (54.3%) were female. Their ages ranged from 17-27, with a mean of 21.6 ± 2.0 years. The scores obtained from the CO scale ranged from 14 to 70, with an average of 24.8 ± 9.9 points. A moderate positive correlation was found between the scores the students got from the CO Scale and the SE Scale (r: 0.49, p: 0.001). Multiple Linear Regression analysis showed that; living in an extended family, not sparing time for hobbies during the day, having a type-A personality, poor face-to-face communication with peers, negative evaluation of parental attitudes, age at first use of smartphone below years 12 or less, use of smartphones for 5 hours or more a day, and Creating membership in social media by hiding their identity was a predictor for CO (F: 30.338, R2: 0.212, p < 0.001). Conclusions It can be said that CO is at a moderate level in medical faculty students. An inverse relationship between CO and SE was found in the study. Key messages İt’s recommended to plan more comprehensive studies on CO which is a new concept for digital health. Public health policies to reduce the level of CO may contribute to higher SE in future physicians.